Miami University’s Center for Civics, Culture, and Society hosted Liberty’s Echoes: Global Reverberations of the Declaration of Independence, a two-day conference held April 9-10 at the Armstrong Student Center.

The event brought together leading scholars, educators, and students to examine the enduring global influence of America’s founding document.

The conference featured a series of academic panels on the first day, offering interdisciplinary perspectives on the historical and international significance of the Declaration of Independence. On the second day, the program shifted to a teacher-focused working session designed to equip educators from area secondary schools with new tools and insights for bringing the principles of the founding era into the classroom.

Teachers explored the Special Collections at King Library, which featured a replica of the first draft of the Declaration of Independence.

The event was sponsored by Miami University’s Center for Civics, Culture, and Society in partnership with the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The Butler County Educational Service Center also provided tremendous promotional support to create awareness in area schools.

“This kind of event directly reflects the center’s mission to foster deeper understanding of the principles, ideals, and institutions that shape American civic life,” said Flagg Taylor, executive director of the center. “By engaging both scholars and educators, we are helping to ensure that these foundational ideas remain vibrant and relevant for future generations.”

Featured participants included distinguished historian Allen Guelzo, professor of Humanities, Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education at the University of Florida. He emphasized the importance of maintaining an engaged populace with the nation’s origins. “The most toxic force in a democracy is not, as we might think, partisan politics, although that sometimes seems to be the case,” Guelzo said. “The real threat is indifference, when large segments of the population really give up any sense of interest or responsibility in their public life, because a democracy cannot function as such unless the people, who are the real rulers, take the trouble to understand and exercise that rule.”

The conference featured additional panelists:

• Deborah A. O’Malley, assistant professor, Institute for Constitutional Thought and Leadership, University of Toledo
• Nicholas Buccola, Dr. Jules L. Whitehill Professor of Humanism and Ethics, Department of Government, Claremont McKenna College
• David Armitage, Lloyd C. Blankfein Professor of History, Harvard University
• Matthew Slaboch, assistant professor, School of Civic Thought and Economic Thought and Leadership, Arizona State University
• Craig Bruce Smith, professor of history, Joint Advanced Warfighting School, Joint Forces Staff College, National Defense University
• Lindsay Schakenbach Regele, director of graduate studies and professor, Department of History, Miami University
• Kenlea Barnes, research associate, Center for Civics, Culture, and Society, Miami University
• Shasta Kaul, research associate, Center for Civics, Culture, and Society, Miami University

Educators from local districts, including Fairfield City Schools, Cincinnati Public Schools, Sycamore Community Schools, Three Rivers Local Schools and the Butler County Educational Service Center participated in the workshop which provided new insight the teachers intend to share in their classrooms and with their fellow educators. “Students need to feel confident and have the ability to evaluate resources old and new, and what better way than learning about the beginnings of democracy,” said Adam Grissom, teacher at Fairfield High School. “Liberty’s Echoes has provided me with the resources necessary to teach online literacy through historical documents while meeting content obligations and developing online literacy skills.”

“I plan to introduce a facsimile of Jefferson’s first handwritten draft of the Declaration so my students can see the imperfections, making both Jefferson and the document itself feel more real and relatable,” said Samantha Bramlage, teacher at Walnut Hills High School. “Students can then use the pocket Declaration to uncover what was left out of Jefferson’s final version and begin the discussion as to why.”

This conference held special significance as 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, a historic milestone that invites renewed reflection on the founding principles of the United States and their lasting impact both at home and around the world. By convening scholars and educators at this pivotal moment, Liberty’s Echoes contributed to a broader commemoration, encouraging deeper engagement with the ideas of liberty, equality, and self-government that have shaped the American experiment for two and a half centuries.

For more information about the Center for Civics, Culture, and Society and upcoming events, visit Miami University’s website.